F is for
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Mike and Paige's issues spill over into their work lives. Set sometime during Season 2.


"Gentlemen, there's enough of us to go around," Paige purred, her voice coming through loud and clear over the transmitter.

"Move!" Johnny ordered, motioning the TAC team in to make a move to arrest Lisov, his men and the _entertainment_.

The backroom of the seedy nightclub where Paige had been undercover the past week as a dancer was suddenly swarming with agents.

The dancers were freaking out, but after a trip downtown they would all be released. Mike motioned to the agent holding Paige to let go of her. "You gonna talk to us, Sweetie?" Mike asked, his fingers possessively grazing over her arm as he pulled her closer.

Paige defiantly glared at him. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

Mike raked his eyes over her curves, slowly taking in her almost indecent black lace dress. A dress so tight he wasn't sure how she could breathe, let alone sit down. If they were anywhere but here, he'd shove her up against the wall and take it off her.

Just because they were in the middle of a bust, didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun. He and Paige weren't really into role playing. He wasn't even sure if they were dating. What he was sure of was that they had been sleeping together for almost three weeks and that first day he _arrested_ her, turned them both on. So much so that revisiting that scenario sometimes slipped its way into the bedroom.

"If you want to do more than look, we're going to have to talk about that when you're off the clock, Officer," Paige murmured, seductively running her hand down his chest.

"Agent," Mike emphasized, gripping her wrist but making sure not to hurt her.

"Hands off!" Paige shouted, pushing Mike away from her.

"Take it easy," Mike calmly said, approaching her again. The room was starting to clear out, there were still a few women that hadn't been arrested yet. He still had a few more minutes before he had to arrest Paige.

"I said hands off!" Paige shouted, slapping Mike.

Mike stared at Paige, shocked that she actually slapped him. And this wasn't some playful slap like she'd give him at the breakfast table if she was teasing him. No, she definitely put some effort into it. He rubbed his stinging face, "Okay, that's enough. Turn around."

"Don't touch me!" Paige said, struggling against him as he moved closer to arrest her.

Before he realized what was happening she punched him. Mike groaned as he felt the full impact of her strength. "Jesus Christ! P..." Mike's voice trailed off, stopping himself before he broke her cover. This wasn't about Paige trying to keep her cover, she was still mad at him

It didn't matter that he outweighed her or that he was stronger than her. Paige consistently put time in at the gym and one of her favorite ways to work off frustration was with a punching bag. And she packed a hell of a punch.

Fuck.

A couple of the other agents in the room winced, but no one intervened. Mike groaned as he held his hand up to his throbbing jaw and rubbed it for a few seconds. He needed a ice pack and some ibuprofen. He was pretty sure he'd have a bruise.

Mike knew Paige was upset about what happened, but he didn't think she'd be so angry that she would sucker punch him at a crime scene.

Paige sweetly smiled at him as she boldly took a step towards him, "Go ahead and arrest me, _Agent_."

Mike spun her around and pulled her towards him, "Do you really want to talk about this here?" Mike asked, slipping his handcuffs on her. He glanced around the room and noticed the room was finally clear of anyone that could break Paige's cover. He was tempted to leave her in handcuffs and drag her downtown so she could cool off, but that would only piss her off more.

Mike uncuffed Paige and she turned around, briefly flicking her eyes towards his before she started to walk away.

"Do you want to explain what just happened?" Mike asked, grabbing her wrist.

Paige yanked her arm away from his, "I needed to resist arrest so I could be separated from the other women."

"So you slapped me and punched me in the face?" Mike asked, trying to keep his voice down so they wouldn't attract _more_ stares from their fellow agents.

"I was just keeping my cover," Paige insisted.

"I was handling it!"

"You were taking too long. My way was quicker and I didn't want to risk blowing my cover." Not to mention the satisfaction she got from wiping that smug smirk off Mike's face. Maybe she even embarrassed him a little. He deserved it. Especially with what he had done the night before.

He humiliated her.

He deserved that and _more._ He should be down on his knees thanking her that she didn't knee him in the groin.

"Don't lie to me," Mike said.

"Oh right, I'm a liar. How could I possibly forget?"

"At least own up to what you did. What you just did was personal, it had _nothing_ to do with your cover!" Mike hissed, trying to be as discreet as possible.

"Fine!" Paige shouted, oblivious to the fact that the agents near them had stopped working and were now watching them.

"Paige, keep it down."

"Oh that's right. I forgot, you don't like it when I'm too loud."

 _Paige collapsed next to Mike on the bed. "Wow, that was..." Paige's voice trailed off for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath. She went to push her hair out of her face, groaning slightly at the movement and she dropped her hand in defeat. "I don't think I can move." Paige happily sighed, content to be this exhausted after a round of really good sex. She just needed a quick catnap before going for round two. Either that or Mike would have to do all the work. That could be fun._

 _Mike ran his hand over his face, "Yeah, you seemed very enthusiastic."_

" _Your fault." Paige turned slightly so she was facing Mike and started absentmindedly running her fingers along his sweat slicked chest, before noticing his furrowed brow and pensive gaze as he stared up at the ceiling. He just fucked her brains out and he looked like he was about to get a root canal. "What do you mean very enthusiastic?"_

" _Forget it," Mike said, pulling her close. He kissed the top of her head. "You hungry? There might be some pizza left."_

 _Paige pushed Mike away as she jerked out of his embrace. "You think I was faking it?" Paige angrily accused him._

 _Unbelievable._

" _I don't know. I'm just saying, you were very vocal tonight. You're not usually this loud."_

" _Did it occur to you that I was enjoying myself? That maybe that's why I couldn't be quiet?" Paige flushed at his accusation as she tried to justify her reaction. Never before had she had a guy accuse her of faking. So maybe there had been a few times where she had. But not with Mike. Never with Mike._

" _It's been a few weeks, you've never been this loud. If you didn't..." Mike sighed, frustrated, still unable to look at her. "If something's not working for you or you want me to do something different, I won't be offended if you speak up. I want it to be good for you."_

" _I had three orgasms in a row!"_

" _And the other night?"_

" _Johnny was in his room with Zelanski playing video games. The door was open. Did you really want me screaming, 'Oh God, Mike. Right there, don't stop, fuck me harder,' with those two across the hall?" They would've been at his bedroom door in seconds. Johnny would've left the moment he had confirmation, she wasn't sure she could say the same for Zelanski._

" _I don't know! I'm just wondering, if tonight is what you said it was, then what's been going on the past few weeks?"_

 _Mike Warren, good at everything but surfing was seriously questioning his performance in bed. This couldn't be her life. Too angry and embarrassed from his accusation about her_ false enthusiasm _, dealing with his insecurity wasn't her problem. It wasn't her job to massage his fragile male ego. "Well whatever it was or wasn't, it's not happening again tonight." Paige climbed out of bed and grabbed the nearest shirt and pulled it on, not caring that it was his. She looked around the room and pulled on her underwear. She picked up his clothes, minus his shirt, and angrily threw them at him._

 _They had the whole house to themselves. Jakes was on a stakeout and everyone else was at Zelanski's softball game. The one night she didn't have to worry about being quiet she got accused of faking it. She didn't have to worry about someone overhearing her moan or scream. Didn't have to muffle her screams in a pillow or his shoulder. Didn't have to bite her lip to keep quiet. She let herself go, surrendered herself to Mike and this was how he repaid her. He accused her of faking it._

 _So much for her plans for the rest of her night. She had planned to take full advantage of the empty house. She wanted him to fuck her with her face pressed up against the frosted glass of her bedroom door. Then she wanted them to make their way into the shower in the main bathroom. But it looked like she'd be showering alone tonight. She glanced at her phone, to see if Charlie had texted her. She hadn't planned to meet them at The Drop after the game, but she asked Charlie to text her so she'd have an idea when people would start trickling home. Maybe she'd meet up with them after all. Because she definitely needed to get away from Mike._

" _Paige..."_

" _Get out of my room before I shoot you."_

 _Mike pulled his boxers on, but as far as she was concerned he wasn't getting dressed fast enough. She angrily marched across the room and opened her bedroom door. She started tossing his clothes in the hall._

" _What the hell? I'm getting dressed."_

" _Not fast enough."_

" _You want me gone? Fine, I'm not leaving until I get my shirt."_

 _Paige pulled it off without hesitation, "Take a good look." Paige whipped his shirt at him and marched past him to the bathroom, desperately in need of a cool shower. Because she was this close to strangling him._

"That's not what I'm saying," Mike said, clearly flustered. "I'm not sure we should be talking about this here."

"Embarrassed? Like you embarrassed me last night? Have fun explaining this." Paige grabbed Mike's jacket and pulled her towards him, aggressively kissing him. Paige poured all of her frustration into that kiss, hating the desire rushed through her veins.

She was so angry with him right now and she hated how much she wanted him right now. Mike pulled her closer and as he tangled his hand in her hair, she forgot she was supposed to be mad at him. Paige suddenly pulled away, smirking at the flustered look on Mike's face.

Paige left him standing there, frozen as she sauntered away from him, putting an extra sway in her step, knowing that he was watching her. She ignored Johnny when he hurried by her, trying to high five her as he made a beeline to Mike.

Now Mike would have to deal with Johnny asking endless questions. She didn't mind people knowing about them. Well, she minded. But it didn't really bother her that people knew their business. Mike was a little more private than she was. It was kind of sweet that he didn't kiss and tell or treat her like some conquest, but now he would have to deal with Johnny teasing him the rest of the day. Her part here was done, she just needed to head downtown. Mike had to stay until everything was finished.

Charlie slung her arm over her shoulder and fanned her hand towards her. "Is it me or is it a little hot in here?" Charlie asked.

"They were talking about that on the news. It's unseasonably warmer than it should be. I don't see how people can say that Global Warming isn't a thing. I know this is California - "

Charlie elbowed her, "You know what I'm talking about. You kissed Mike _after_ you punched him!"

She kissed Mike to make _him_ explain it, not for her to explain it to Charlie. "I guess I didn't need to punch him, so I kissed him to apologize," Paige weakly explained, frustrated with herself for not being able to come up with a better excuse. She lied for a living and that was the best she could come up with? She probably should've thought this through a little more, but Mike made her so angry, but at least, he had to deal with Johnny.

* * *

Mike took a deep breath, hesitating briefly before pushing open Paige's door. He probably should've knocked first, but she left it cracked. He waited a few seconds before sticking his arm in her room, waving a white towel before entering her room.

Paige was sitting on her bed, going through a stack of case files. She glared at Mike as he entered her room, but she didn't tell him to leave. He took that as a sign to stay. Mike closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry about last night."

It wasn't until Paige attacked him that he realized how upset she actually was. He still didn't think she needed to go off on him like _that_ while they were on the clock, but he thought about how he would feel if the situation had been reversed.

In his opinion, Paige was the most beautiful and sexiest woman he had ever laid eyes on. She was completely in control of her sexuality. Instead of enjoying an intimate moment with her, he called that into question and let his own insecurities cloud his thoughts. He had never had any complaints in the bedroom, but Paige was _Paige_. They never compared numbers or anything like that, but sometimes when they were in bed together, he couldn't believe that they were actually together. That it wasn't some dream or fantasy. He was overwhelmed by the fact that they were actually sleeping together and somehow found himself nervous like he had been with his first serious girlfriend.

He and Paige weren't dating. Their wasn't a label on their _thing_ and if she got bored with him, she could easily push him out of her bed without a second thought and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

His apology was met with silence, but Paige had looked up from her file. At least she wasn't pretending to ignore him. "I'm an idiot."

Paige's lips curved into a slight smile and closed her file, "Keep talking."

"You're amazing. And smart. Drop dead gorgeous. You're funny and lethal. And I guess, somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder why now? What if this version of whatever we are isn't what you want?" Mike asked, his words spilling out before he had a chance to censor himself. He was here to apologize, not to make her think about labels. "I let myself get inside my head. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Paige said. She didn't want to overanalyze what Mike just said to her. She wanted to keep things casual, at least for now. She wasn't ready to define what they were. Mike was just out here until he closed his case, they had until then to figure things out.

Mike nodded, "Okay, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."

"Wait!" What was he doing? They had a fight. Technically, two fights. They made up. That meant make-up sex.

"Hold on a second." Mike disappeared from her room and reappeared a few minutes later with a paper bag in one hand and his other hand behind his back. "Just in case an apology wasn't enough, I came prepared."

He handed her a movie and she smiled, tracing her fingers along the DVD case. "Casablanca. One of my favorites."

"You mentioned liking old movies and I figured that included this. I saw it once with my mom."

She motioned for him to sit down next to her and she took the bag from him, happily sighing once she realized he got takeout from her favorite Chinese restaurant. He insisted the Mongolian Beef wasn't spicy enough even though her place made the best Kung Pao Shrimp in a five mile radius. But he still went to her favorite place, not his. "I'm starving."

"I figured, you've been hiding out up here ever since I got back from Headquarters," Mike said. "Any particular reason?"

He was right. She had been hiding out up here, not wanting to answer the countless questions their roommates had about her outburst that afternoon. Even though only Charlie and Johnny had been present to witness it, everyone knew.

Jakes wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting any part of the drama.

Briggs mostly stayed out of it, but couldn't resist commenting how they were having issues, _again_. Which made everyone want to know if whatever was going on between her and Mike was new or if they were picking up something they started last summer.

Johnny had a million theories. His most interesting one was that she was jealous of the female ICE Agent that had a crush on Mike and kissing him in public let everyone know that Mikey was off-limits.

Charlie was closest to the truth, figuring that Mike pissed her off but wasn't sure _why_.

Paige traced her fingers along the light purple bruise on his face. "Sorry about that." She knelt next to him and lightly brushed her lips over his cheek. "I can kiss it and make it better," Paige murmured.

"There's lots of things you can kiss," Mike whispered against her lips.

Paige laughed, "You're so cheesy," Paige teased.

"You started it."

Paige shrugged, leaning back on the bed as Mike softly kissed her. "Dinner later, okay?"

* * *

The lights in Paige's room were dim and they were sitting on the floor, leaning up against the side of her bed having a late night indoor picnic. Her eyes appreciatively swept over his bare chest, making her wonder if she really wanted more rice when she knew that Mike was naked underneath the sheet they were both tangled up in. Not that she was wearing much more. But she did swipe the shirt he had on earlier and managed to button most of it. Although she could feel Mike undressing her with his eyes every time he looked at her.

Paige leaned over Mike laughing as he playfully swatted her hand away. "You're hogging all the rice," Paige protested.

Mike held the container just out of reach and Paige pouted, but she wasn't mad. If Mike wanted to hog the rice, she was prepared to negotiate. She undid a few buttons on her - _his_ \- shirt, giving him a very, generous view of her cleavage before moving her hand beneath the sheet. She slid it across his leg, sweetly smiling as she brushed her hand over him. Paige inched closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Can I have a taste?" Paige asked, pointing to his half-eaten carton of Mongolian Beef. "Rice too."

Mike groaned when Paige squeezed him lightly, "Yeah."

Instead of handing over her the takeout containers, he prepared a bite for her.

Apparently, he was only willing to share a little, but she wanted more rice. Paige squeezed him harder, causing his hand to falter. Paige laughed, wiping the fallen rice off her lip as she ate the bite of food Mike offered her.

"You play dirty," Mike said. He brushed his thumb along her lower lip. "You have a little sauce..." Mike leaned forward to kiss the edge of her mouth.

Paige pushed aside the rest of the takeout containers. "If you're trying to distract me from eating all the rice, it's working."

"Don't we have a rice cooker? We can make more rice. Eat it all, I don't care."

"Shut up about the rice and kiss me."

Mike hungrily kissed Paige, eager to get lost in her again.

They heard a crash in the hallway and he paused briefly, wondering if they should go out in the hall to investigate. He heard another crash and pulled away slightly.

"Ignore it," Paige insisted, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Good call," Mike whispered, gently pushing her down on the floor.

" _JOHNNY!" Charlie shouted. "Put that thing down!"_

Mike groaned, resting his head on her shoulder. "Hotel?" As much as he loved this house, some nights it was impossible to get some privacy. Tonight, he just wanted to focus on Paige but whatever was going on outside her door was making it next to impossible to focus on her, but he could try. Mike dragged his lips along her neck, nibbling on her ear. "Or we could..." His voice trailed off as Paige ran her hand down his back, playfully swatting his ass.

"Just give it a minute." Paige closed her eyes and he quickly undid the rest of the buttons on her shirt.

Mike trailed kisses along her neck, slowly kissing his way down her body, each moan that slipped past her lips, fueled his desire for her. "You're gorgeous," Mike whispered, teasing her breasts with kisses and gentle caresses. He noted how she kept arching up into him and her hand moved to grip his hair, so he kissed her harder, nibbling her tender flesh.

Mike still wasn't sure exactly what was going on between them. Paige was hesitant to put a label on their _thing_ , but maybe now that everyone knew it would help them figure out what they were. He also wasn't sure what his plans were after this case ended. But he didn't want to get ahead of himself. He was just going to enjoy whatever time he had with her. That included right now.

The mood was broken when they heard a large thud in the hallway.

" _I'm not helping you clean that up," Charlie said._

" _It's your fault I dropped it!" Johnny insisted._

"A hotel sounds great," Paige said, gently patting his chest.

Paige slowly kissed him and he was starting to rethink their plans to relocate, especially as Paige wrapped her leg around him, but then he heard Jakes and Johnny arguing over whose fault it was. "I'll pack up dinner, you pack a bag. I'll go grab some things from my room and I'll meet you back here in ten minutes?"

" _Damn it, Johnny!"_

Paige gently bit his lower lip, "Make it five," Paige whispered. "If we're at a hotel, it doesn't matter if anyone overhears."

THE END

* * *

 **A/N: In case you're wondering, the "F" was for false enthusiasm. Oddly, it wasn't for faking it, probably because false enthusiasm popped in my head first. Figured we could all use a little break from canon ;)**

 **and for anyone wondering why I haven't posted anything since this, I've been busy. check my bio page for more info.**


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